This invention relates to game playing services for gaming machines such as slot machines and video poker machines. More particularly, the present invention relates to providing methods of communication for game services such as licensing and accounting on gaming machines.
There are a wide variety of associated devices that can be connected to a gaming machine such as a slot machine or video poker machine. Some examples of these devices are lights, ticket printers, card readers, speakers, bill validators, ticket readers, coin acceptors, display panels, key pads, coin hoppers and button pads. Many of these devices are built into the gaming machine or components associated with the gaming machine such as a top box which usually sits on top of the gaming machine.
Typically, utilizing a master gaming controller, the gaming machine controls various combinations of devices that allow a player to play a game on the gaming machine and also encourage game play on the gaming machine. For example, a game played on a gaming machine usually requires a player to input money or indicia of credit into the gaming machine, indicate a wager amount, and initiate a game play. These steps require the gaming machine to control input devices, such as bill validators and coin acceptors, to accept money into the gaming machine and recognize user inputs from devices, including key pads and button pads, to determine the wager amount and initiate game play. After game play has been initiated, the gaming machine determines a game outcome, presents the game outcome to the player and may dispense an award of some type depending on the outcome of the game.
The operations described above may be carried out on the gaming machine when the gaming machine is operating as a “stand alone” unit or linked in a network of some type to a group of gaming machines. As technology in the gaming industry progresses, more and more gaming services are being provided to gaming machines via communication networks that link groups of gaming machines to a remote computer that provides one or more gaming services. As an example, gaming services that may be provided by a remote computer to a gaming machine via a communication network of some type include player tracking, accounting, cashless award ticketing, lottery, progressive games and bonus games.
Typically, network gaming services enhance the game playing capabilities of the gaming machine or provide some operational advantage in regards to maintaining the gaming machine. Thus, network gaming services provided to groups of gaming machines linked over a dedicated communication network of some type have become very popular in the gaming industry. In general, the dedicated communication network is not accessible to the public. To justify the costs associated with the infrastructure needed to provide network gaming services on a dedicated communication network, a certain critical number of gaming machines linked in a network of some type must utilize the service. Thus, many of the network gaming services are only provided at larger gaming establishments where a large number of gaming machines are deployed.
A progressive game network offering progressive game services is one example where a group of gaming machines are linked together using a dedicated network to provide a network gaming service. The progressive game services enabled by the progressive game network increase the game playing capabilities of a particular gaming machine by enabling a larger jackpot than would be possible if the gaming machine was operating in a “stand alone” mode. The potential size of the jackpot increases as the number gaming machines connected in the progressive network is increased. The size of the jackpot tends to increase game play on gaming machines offering a progressive jackpot which justifies the costs associated with installing and maintaining the dedicated progressive game network.
Within the gaming industry, a particular gaming entity may desire to provide network gaming services and track the performance of all the gaming machines under the control of the entity. The gaming machines under the control of a particular entity may be globally distributed in many different types of establishments. Casinos, convenience stores, supermarkets, bars and boats are a few examples of establishments where gaming machines may be placed.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting gaming machines distributed in different establishments partially connected by a dedicated communication network for a typical gaming entity currently operating in the gaming industry. In FIG. 1, the gaming entity utilizes a central office 142. The gaming machines, 102, 104, 106, 114, 116, 136 and 138 for the gaming entity are located in two casinos, 110 and 122, and a store 140. A gaming entity may operate hundreds, thousands or ten of thousands of gaming machines. Since gaming is allowed in many locations throughout the world, the two casinos, 110 and 122, the central office 142 and the store may be distributed over a wide geographic area. For instance, the casino 110 may be located in Atlantic City, N.J., the casino 122 may be located in Australia, the central office may be located in Las Vegas, Nev. and the store may be located in Reno, Nev.
Within the casinos, the gaming machines may be connected to one or more database servers via one or more dedicated networks. The database servers are usually located in the backroom of the casino. For instance, in casino 110, gaming machines 102, 104 and 106 are connected to a database server 100 via a dedicated network 108. The dedicated network 108 may be used to send accounting information and player tracking information from the gaming machines to the database server 110. In casino 122, the gaming machines 114, 116, 118 may send accounting information and player tracking information to a database server using the dedicated network 120. Other dedicated networks (not shown) in casinos, 110 and 112, may provide such network gaming services as bonus game play, progressive game play and cashless ticketing.
In casinos 110 and 122, the database servers 100 and 112 may store and process accounting data from the gaming machines in communication with the database servers. For instance, an accounting report detailing the performance of individual and groups of gaming machines may be generated from the data stored on the database servers 100 and 112. In addition, accounting data or reports may be sent to the database server 124 in the central office 142 from each casino. These reports may contain game performance data collected from a number of gaming machines as well as hotel operations data. The data from the casinos may be sent to the central office using an expensive dedicated leased line 132 using a frame relay network.
The database server 124 may be used to generate reports summarizing the performance of all the gaming machines within the gaming entity (e.g. casino 110, casino 122 and store 140). The reports may be accessed locally using the local access points 126 and 128 via the local network. In addition, reports may be remotely accessed using a dial in number for a limited number of users. For instance, an executive travelling on the road might view gaming machine performance data from the remote access point 134 where the remote access point 134 may be a hotel room.
For the store 140, the gaming machines, 136 and 138 may be leased by the store operator. However, the cost of a dedicated communication network for a small number of gaming machines is usually not justified. Thus, the gaming machines operate in a “stand alone” mode. While operating in “stand alone” mode, network gaming services are not available to these gaming machines. To obtain performance data for the gaming machines, 136 and 138, a route operator may regularly extract performance data from the machines and manually transmit the information to the central office 142. A route may consist of a number gaming machines located in various locations such as bars, convenience stores and supermarkets. Usually, the route operator manually extracts performance data for all of the gaming machines located on their route. For a large route, this process may be both time consuming and costly.
Within the gaming industry, there is some desire to provide centralized network gaming services, centralized data access and centralized data acquisition to all of the gaming machines or a larger proportion of gaming machines within a gaming entity. For the casinos, 110 and 122, the gaming machines are connected via local dedicated networks that do not generally allow, for security reasons, the gaming machines to communicate with devices located outside of the casino. For instance, in FIG. 1, the database server 124 may not directly communicate with gaming machine 102 or gaming machine 114. Further, as described above, a dedicated network is usually not cost effective for smaller gaming establishments. Thus, with the communication infrastructure described in FIG. 1 which is representative of the communication infrastructure currently available in the gaming industry, the implementation of centralized network gaming services, such as centralized data acquisition may be difficult.
A current barrier to providing centralized network gaming services and centralized data acquisition for gaming machines diversely distributed throughout a gaming entity is the complexity and costs of the dedicated communication networks currently used in the gaming industry. The costs of installing and maintaining a dedicated communication network typically limit the application of dedicated networks to large establishments with a large number of gaming machines. Further, even in the larger establishments, the dedicated network are usually only implemented locally and centralized network gaming services (e.g. from a central office) are usually not provided. In view of the above, it would be desirable to provide gaming communication methods for gaming machines that reduce the complexity of the gaming network environment, reduce the costs associated with adding new network gaming services and simplify the data acquisition process for gaming machines widely distributed within a gaming entity.